India's hopes will once again be pinned on Shooters to increase the medal haul alongside Roshibina Devi in the Wushu final. Indian men's hockey and football teams will also be in action
Aware of the challenge that awaits India against Japan, men's hockey team skipper Harmanpreet Singh said they will need to strengthen their defence and be ready to switch tactics against the defending champions during their Asian Games clash on Thursday. India habe hardly been troubled so far, having won their first two games with big margins. India defeated Uzbekistan 16-0 in their opening Pool A game last week before mauling Singapore 16-1 in another lop-sided contest. However, India will perhaps face their toughest challenge yet in the competition when they take on the 2018 Asian Games gold medallists. "We are aware of the level of competition that we will face tomorrow. Japan have a strong unit and we are familiar with their strengths and weaknesses," said Harmanpreet Singh. "We have to focus on our own style of play, but we have to also be ready to switch tactics as and when needed on the field to get a good result." Japan too have been unbeaten in the Games, having beaten ..
India will hop for a big medal haul from shooters as they will be in action in six medal events. Indian women's hockey team will open their campaign against Singapore as well
Asian Games 2023 Day 3 Highlights: Indian team comprising Sudipti Hajela, Divyakriti Singh, Hridaya Vipul and Anush Agarwalla won gold in the Equestrian dressage event. India secured 3 sailing medals
The Indian Team went into this match with immense confidence, having recorded a resounding 16-0 victory in their tournament opener against Uzbekistan on Sunda
Asian Games 2023 Day 1 Highlights: The Indian team won five medals in rowing and shooting while it secured a medal by qualifying for final in women's cricket
At 35, PR Sreejesh is standing at the twilight of his career and the Hangzhou Asian Games is most likely his last appearance at the continental showpiece. But the veteran Indian hockey goalkeeper is determined to win the gold at Hangzhou to give himself a chance to earn a direct entry to the Paris Olympics next year, and do better there winning a yellow-coated medal. Eight-time champions India had won a historic bronze at the Tokyo Olympics after 41 years beating Germany 5-4 in the play-off match. "Obviously, next year's Olympics is my main target and I want to change the colour of my medal there. But having said that, we need to qualify through the Asian Games (to Olympics) so that we get ample time to prepare ourselves," Sreejesh told PTI. Sreejesh reiterated that age is just a number for a sportsperson and gave the example of tennis great Novak Djokovic in this regard. "I am right now taking one game, one tournament at a time. As (Novak) Djokovic said, 35 is the new 25. So, I'
The Indian women's hockey team is well prepared and will look to seal an Olympic berth with a good show at the Asian Games, said skipper Savita ahead of the side's departure for Hangzhou, China. The Indian women's hockey team, which is placed in Pool A along with Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong China and Singapore, left for China on Tuesday night. The quadrennial event gets underway in Hangzhou on September 23. India will open their campaign at the prestigious event against Singapore on September 27. Japan, China, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia are placed in Pool B. The top two teams from each Pool will qualify for the semifinals. The gold medal winning team will directly qualify for next year's Paris Olympics. "We have had a long and strenuous National Camp where we worked on all the areas where we need to improve. We have formulated our strategies as per our strengths and we have studied our opponents as well, thoroughly to understand their styles of play," Savita said in a ...
Indian women's hockey coach Janneke Schopman believes handling pressure will be crucial for her team as it will enter the upcoming Asian Games as one of "favourites". "I believe the mindset the players have as individuals and as a team will make the difference. Can we perform under pressure and deal with the circumstances handed over to us? "We have talked about this over the past couple of months and what it means to not be the underdogs like we were in Tokyo but being the favourites," Schopman said on the latest episode of Hockey Te Charcha, a podcast series launched by Hockey India. "We have spoken about the expectations from this team. We have also addressed what dangers are out there that might cause distraction, and trip us up, and how we can deal with the same." The Dutch coach said if her team plays to its potential, it can win win the gold in Hangzhou and qualify directly for next year's Paris Olympics. "It is important to enjoy the journey as well. I hope we win; I think
The Indian hockey team would be aiming for nothing less than a gold in both the men's and women's categories as a spot at the Paris Olympics is up for grabs
If one saw her mother working tirelessly for earning Rs 800 a month, the other endured the agony of being unemployed for almost a decade, while another learnt the game by playing with bamboo sticks. To Savita Punia, Neha Goyal and Nikki Pradhan hockey brought solace, and these Indian women's team players did not let personal turmoil affect their game. Also plenty of sacrifices were made during their journey to the top, making them hungrier for success. They had their 'Chak de' moment in the Tokyo Olympics where they missed a podium finish by a whisker, and now they are on a mission to realise an unfulfilled dream. The first step would be to secure direct qualification to the Paris Olympics through the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games. They are not leaving any stone unturned, including giving up on their favourite food, in order to improve their willpower and fitness and win gold in Hangzhou. "We know that there are immense expectations from us post Tokyo Olympics and this team is cap
Rising Indian hockey forward Abhishek, who is set for his first major Asian tournament in the upcoming Hangzhou Games, says his aim is to play with confidence and leave China without "any regrets". The 24-year-old has come up the hard way and made a delayed breakthrough in his career but he has cemented his place in the Indian side with some stellar performances -- 18 goals in 48 appearances. "I am ecstatic to have been named to the squad, and I am eager to give my all on the pitch. The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 is a big tournament, and we're preparing accordingly," he said in a Hockey India release. "We'll play with confidence, and our goal is to leave China with no regrets at the end of the tournament," he added. Asked about his team's preparations for the 19th Asian Games, Abhishek said, "We will face some good teams, and we are working very hard in training to make sure we are in the best physical and mental shape when we step onto the pitch." India are placed in Pool A a
Former Indian hockey captain Prabodh Tirkey on Monday joined the Congress at the party's Odisha unit headquarters here and expressed his desire to contest the assembly elections next year. He joined the party in the presence of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattanayak, its state in-charge A Chella Kumar and other senior leaders. The former hockey player has expressed his desire to contest the next assembly elections from the Talsara segment in the tribal-dominated Sundergarh district. Tirkey said he decided to join the party as the "work of Rahul Gandhi deeply influenced" him and asserted that his family has a "long association with the Congress". Claiming that the people in the Talsara area are "neglected", he said the "tribals do not get any benefit from government schemes". Tirkey made his debut in the Junior Asia Cup in 2000. He was the national captain of sub-junior, junior and India-A teams and finally became the India senior team captain. He played 135
India emerged champions in the Men's Hockey5s Asia Cup here on Saturday, beating arch-rivals Pakistan 2-0 in a shootout after both teams were locked at 4-4 in regulation time. With the win, India have booked their place in the FIH Men's Hockey5s World Cup 2024. For India, Mohammed Raheel (19th and 26th), Jugraj Singh (7th) and Maninder Singh (10th) were the goal scorers during the regulation time, whereas Gurjot Singh and Maninder Singh managed to beat the goalkeeper in the shootout. Pakistan, Abdul Rehman (5th), captain Abdul Rana (13th), Zikriya Hayat (14th) and Arshad Liaqat (19th) were on target for Pakistan. Indian keeper Suraj Karkera made some vital saves before Pakistan broke the deadlock via Rehman in the fifth minute. Jugraj Singh got the equalizer for India just a couple of minutes later. India took the lead with Maninder Singh's reverse hit from a distance. Nevertheless, Pakistan struck back quickly and restored their lead through skipper Abdul Rana (13th) and Zikriya
Veteran striker Akashdeep Singh and young Karthi Selvam have been dropped but experienced Lalit Upadhyay made a comeback to the 18-member Indian men's hockey team selected for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Hockey India selectors dropped three players -- Akashdeep, Karthi and defender Jugraj Singh from the champion side of the Asian Champions Trophy held in Chennai earlier this month. Drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh and midfielder Hardik Singh will continue to don the roles of captain and vice-captain in the Asian Games. Jugraj has been replaced by Sanjay, while Lalit and Abhishek came in place of Akashdeep and Karthi. The team has two goalkeepers in veteran PR Sreejesh and Krishan Bahadur Pathak. Besides two goalkeepers, the Asian Games-bound team will have six defenders, five midfielders and as many forwards. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Savita Punia will lead the 18-member Indian women's hockey team in the Asian Games. Experienced Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Baljeet Kaur
India will next face off against Malaysia at 1430 hrs IST and Japan at 1930 hrs IST on Thursday, August 31
Athletics has the highest representation among Indian athletes chosen for the continental event, with 65 participants for the Asian Games Hangzhou 2023
Fast-rising Karthi Selvam, one of the star performers for Indian men's hockey team in the Asian Champions Trophy, feels that he has been able to live up to expectations of his parents, who sacrificed a lot to nourish his dream of weaving magic with the stick. Karthi was the first from Tamil Nadu to be selected in the senior national men's hockey team in 13 years when he made his debut in last year's Asia Cup in Jakarta. In the ACT this year, he scored two goals and had a hand in plenty of assists. Karthi scored on his debut in the opening match against Pakistan but for the 21-year-old forward, the goal against Malaysia in the group stages of ACT was something he would cherish for his entire life as it came in front of his home and crowd and more importantly his parents. "One memory that I will always cherish is scoring my first goal of the tournament (ACT) against Malaysia. This was the very first goal that I scored in front of my family who were watching me play for the first time,
Following the successful conduct of the men's event in Chennai, India will next host the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament for women for the first time, in Ranchi from October 27 to November 5 this year. The seventh edition of the tournament will be a joint venture between Hockey India and the Government of Jharkhand. Besides India, defending champions Japan, runners-up Korea, China, Malaysia and Thailand are expected to participate in the tournament. The Indian women's team won the title in 2016 and in the following edition in 2018, it finished runners-up. Ranchi has previously hosted numerous Hockey India League matches from 2012 to 2015 and was home to the city-based franchise, Ranchi Rays. In recent years, the stadium has witnessed several top domestic events and boasts of a big fan base for the sport. Jharkhand has a rich hockey history, having produced seven Olympians who have represented India, including Jaipal Singh Munda, Silbanus Dungdung, Manohar Topno, Ajit Lak
The Asian Champions Trophy title triumph will "really count" as India set sights on Asian Games gold in order to secure automatic qualification to 2024 Paris Olympics, said head coach Craig Fulton. The India hockey team fought back from two goals down to eke out a 4-3 win over Malaysia in the final to claim their fourth ACT title here on Saturday. With the Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled to commence on September 23, Fulton was asked whether a thrilling final like this will help the side in the continental showpiece event. "Finals are cagier; they never go smooth. It comes down to a moment or shootouts. So, it's important to have a game like this because it really counts. "At the same time, it's (ACT) not the Asian Games. So, our feet are firmly on the ground. But, if you said to me to win the Asian Games and lose this final, I would obviously vouch for winning the Games," added Fulton. Fulton said the comeback story of the team had begun two months back. "Two months ago," Fulton t